In the quarter century
following the First World War, African Americans were on the move in many
ways. First and foremost was the migration of black families from the
southern states into the big cities of the northeast and Midwest. They
took tough jobs in the factories and packing plants and came to call the
north home.

But African Americans also
were on the move in self-determination. They asserted their rights through
political organizations such as the Universal Negro Improvement Association,
the NAACP, the Nation of Islam and the Congress of Racial Equality. Men
such as Marcus Garvey, Walter White, Elijah Muhammad, and Adam Clayton
Powell spoke up for black people.

Blacks also were prominent
in literature. Supported by the estate of C.J. Walker, black writers flourished
in Harlem in the 1920s: Jean Toomer published Cane; Claude MacKay published
Home to Harlem; Langston Hughes published The Weary Blues. By the end
of the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston had written her second book, Their Eyes
Were Watching God and Richard Wright burst onto the literary scene with
his masterpiece, Native Son.

In sports, African American
proved their prowess. The Negro Baseball League was a showcase for stars
such as Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and many others. Jesse Owens proved
his superiority and won accolades for black athletes by taking four gold
medals in the 1936 Olympics. And Joe Lewis added insult to injury when
he won back his heavyweight boxing crown from Max Schmeling.